Paul Pierce earned about $195 million in salary over his 19-season NBA career. Now, his attorney says he’s “drowning financially.” According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Pierce pays about $48,000 a month in child and spousal support and another $48,000 in monthly bills, which adds up to roughly $96,000 a month. Gilbert Arenas isn’t buying it.

Pierce’s money troubles came out of an ongoing court case with his former partner, Princess Santiago, who filed a paternity case earlier this year involving their son, King Rafael. Santiago is now asking for $40,000 in legal fees and $10,000 for a forensic accountant to review Pierce’s finances, claiming he hasn’t been transparent about them. Pierce is asking the court to deny the request.

But Arenas thinks the numbers aren’t adding up.

“That’s what he’s spending today. 96 Gs. And we know that’s lying,” Arenas claimed in a recent episode of the We Said What We Said Show. “That’s what he’s showing the court. That’s what he’s showing the court to say, ‘Hey, I’m broke.'”

Arenas argued that former NBA players carry “hard bills” long after they retire, with “two, three houses, mortgage, you know, about six cars at the lowest end.” By his estimate, most retired players are still spending around $100,000 a month, and those who made more than $100 million are “probably about 150 at the lowest.”

Pierce’s filing still shows a comfortable lifestyle, with $7,000 a month on eating out, $3,500 on entertainment, and $1,000 on clothes.

That’s why Arenas doesn’t believe the $96,000 figure from a player who has been retired since 2017.

“If you really just look at it and a dude that’s been retired that long saying I spent $96,000 a month, I’m broke,” Arenas said. “He probably at like 150, 170. Like, it took him everything to get under that.”

Moreover, Pierce has claimed to have $300K in his bank and an additional $3 million in properties. One can imagine why some people are skeptical about his financial status.

That being said, it’s true that Paul Pierce has had a controversial few years. After retiring in 2017, he began working as a broadcaster with ESPN. However, he was fired from ESPN after posting controversial content on Instagram in 2021. He later joined Fox Sports to become a co-host of Speak, but the show was cancelled in 2025.

According to the filing, Pierce’s average monthly income was $119,000 until his final Fox Sports check arrived in August. Now, he says, it’s zero. His attorney said Pierce would have “great difficulty” paying the fees Santiago is requesting since his Fox Sports contract ended.

The former Celtics player was actually ordered to pay $8,508 in child support plus $100,000 in legal fees by the court before Santiago’s request for the additional $50,000 as mentioned earlier. The amount is huge, but Arenas argued that there’s a way one could get out of it.

He explained it with an example. “Do you think I’m going to pay $27 million of the 30 I have to be left for three? Right?” he asked. “So what I’m going to do is I’m going to take that 30 and I’m going to spend four of it to get to 26, then file for bankruptcy.”

Of course, Pierce has not filed for bankruptcy, and Arenas is not suggesting that he would, but his example shows why he believes Pierce’s numbers, as presented to the court, are meant to make the 10-time All-Star and former broadcaster look broke.

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